Island



3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

F. WILGOMB. STRAIGHT KNITTING MACHINE.

No. 405,640. PatentedJune T18, 1889.

N, PETERS. Phom-Limugmpher. wnshingmr.. D. C.

(N0 Model.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 2. F. WILGOMB. STRAIGHT KNTTING MAGHINE.

No. 405,6 Patented June 18, 1889.Y

N. PETERS, Pnm-Liengmpher. 'wnshingmm n. a

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

F. WILCOMB.

STRAIGHT KNITTING MACHINE.

No. 405,640. Patented June 18, 1889.

MKM/vw Nr PETERS, Pmvuihngnplur, w-.shimm n.0.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK wILcoME, oF PROVIDENCE, EI-IoDE ISLAND.

' sTRAieHT-KNITTING lvlAcHlNE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 405,640, dated June 1S, 1889.

Application filed November 14:, `1888. Serial No. 290,849. (No model.) i

To a/ZZ whom, t 71mg/ concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK VILCOMB, of Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented a new an d useful Improvement in Straight-Knitting Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same. y

In the class of straigh t-knitti n g machinessuch, for example, as that shown in Letters Patent of the United States granted mel on the 12th day of October, 1886, and numbered 350,795-the thread-carrier is connected to the needle-slides during their whole Inovement, and therefore moves always the same distance and alittle beyond the ends of the needlerows. This leaves some slack yarn to be taken up at the ends of the stroke, even when all the needles are in work; but when some of the needles are thrown out in narrowing the amount ot' slack yarn at the ends is increased. This increase is greatly exaggerated when most of the needles are thrown out, as I contemplate operating the machine in the manufacture of stockings. All this renders it important to relieve the take-up Inechanism. For this purpose I have devised a new organization of the thread-carrier-*namely, a thread-carrier detachable f rom the rod which gives it reciprocating Inovement-and provide a stop by Ineans of which the carrier is arrested at the ends of the rows of active needles while the rod moves on the full length of the stroke required for the needle-slides. This stop may be fixed at the ends of the entire rows, which is sufficient when no narrowing mechanism is used, but with the narrowing mechanism I have provided a movable stop for the carrier, adjusted as the needlerows are reduced in length by connections with the Inain shaft and controlled by the pattern mechanism, so that the adjustment of the stop keeps pace with the reduction of the rows of active needles.

The leading' feature of Iny invention is the detachable carrier with an automatically movable or adjustable stop. A second feature of importance is the connection of the thread-carrier-reversing mechanism with the main shaft, said connection being' independent of its stroke, so that the said carrier is reversed at theend of its stroke, whatever the .way O O.

length may be. I also include as a subordinate part of my invention the details of construction, which are also of my invention.

The general principle of the machine in which my said inventions are embodied is the same substantially as that shownin my patent heretofore mentioned; but the details other than those including the invention are as shown in an application tiled by me in the United States Patent'Oflice, Serial No. 271,026.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown the parts necessary to illustrate my invention. Those parts of the machine not herein s hown may be the same as in my aforesaid application.

In the drawings, Figure l represents a view, partly in longitudinal section and partly in side elevation, showing in the upper part thereof the thread-carrier way, the carrier, the stop therefor, and the needles and transfer-points, and in the lower the Inovingmechanism for the carrier. Fig. 2 shows in perspective the thread-carrier way, the carrier, the detachable connections, and the stops. Figs. 3 and 4E are detail views hereinafter explained. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the machine partly broken away. Fig. 6 is a horizontal sect-ion through the thread-carrier and its way. Fig. 7 shows the needle-beds and parts above them in cross-section and the movable stop-connections with the Inain driving-power. Figs. S, 9, and 10 are details hereinafter explained.

In the drawings, the slide-bars D D', needlebeds E E and the parts which they carry and with which they are connected, and the pointcarriers and point-moving mechanism are shown all as in my machine, but are not herein particularly described or claimed.

Conning the description to the parts of the organization claimed as of my present invention, it will be observed that the rod o, which is fixed to a standard on the cross-piece at the ends of the slide-bars, is not directly connected to the thread-carrier P, but is attached to a cross-head p, which slides in the guide- This cross-head has on its upper and lower arms blocks p', which bear on the outer edges of the guides and serve to prevent the cross-head from binding in its reciprocations. They are outside of the iianges ot the thread-carrier, and do not interfere with the ment with the pin of the carrier.

Yrier.

thread-carrier in the same manner as the 65 fixed stop-that is to say, by releasing the carrier movement. The guide-bar O is slotted longitudinally, as at 02, and through this slot a pin 2, set in the side of the thread-carrier, projects to the outside of the guide also, on

the outside of this guideway is a latch 3, piv- 1o latch, extending behind its pivot, is a spring 4, connected to the block on the outside, so that the latch is normally held up in engagerI"he upper edge of the latch is inclined, as shown at 5,

and moves under a pin 6, set in the side of the guide O, and is pressed down thereby, so that the curved or hook end of the latch is disengaged from the pin in the carrier. @l/Vhen this has happened, the carrier stops, and the cross- 2o head, which is held by the hook at a little distance behind the thread-carrier, has room to move on a sufficient distance without striking the th read-carrier. The pin against which the latch strikes is set at the point where the thread-carrier should stop. The latch remains under the pin of the carrier after it is disengaged therefrom, and when the cross-head returns it draws back the latch until the hook comes again directly underneath the pin,

3o when the spring forces it into engagement therewith, and the carrier is drawn back. By this mechanism the thread-carrier is made to stop precisely at the end of the needle-row, and the slack of the thread is thereby mate- 3 5 rially diminished. This expedient of the sta- 4o length of the rows of needles will greatly vary,

and for the effectual working of the detachable carrier, Linder the conditions of their wide variation, I have provided the movable or adjustable stop S. This moves along by the side of the guide-bar O', and has a spline '7 0n its inner face which travels in a groove 8. The operating part of the stop 9 is fixed on the side of a threaded sleeve l0, through which is a threaded shaft Il. This has its 5o bearings in the standards which support the guide-bars. In these it turns without longitudinal movement, and carries the stop as it turns. The threads of this shaft have the same pitch as that 53 which moves the pointcarrier 54.

The stop-shaft li has a sprocket-'wheel l2 .fixed upon one end, and this is in engagement with a chain 13, which is drivenby a similar sprocket-wheel upon the point-carrier shaft The connection is fully shown in Fig. 5. By this connection the stop is moved to advance or retreat equally with the point-car- The .movable stop acts to arrest the carrier from the cross-head7 and permitting the carrier to remain where released, while the cross-head moves on to theend .of its stroke. The stop for this purpose is provided with inclined faces l5 in the path of the latch. The latch has a reverse incline 16, which passes under the stop, and thereby the latch is depressed, releasing the hook from the pin in the thread-carrier, while the latch with the cross-head moves away from it. On its return the latch rides under the opposite inclined face of the stop, and is depressed to again engage with the pin. The thread-carrier moves on its guide-bars with sufficient friction to maintain it in place, under ordinary circumstances, when released from the cross-head; but to insure its stability when acted upon by the thread-guide-reversing mechanism I have provided a spring-catch. 17, which grasps the neck of the thread-carrier, as shown in Figs. 1 and 5. It is carried upon an arm 9 fixed on the stop. Vhen the thread-carrier is moved toward the stop and is near to it, just before it is released from the cross-head, the neck of the thread-carrier is forced between the jaws of the catch, and is held therein until the cross-head returns and its catch again engages with the pin of the carrier. Further movement of the crosshead then frees the neck out of the jaws.

In my machine, as shown in the patent heretofore mentioned, the thread-carrier is reversed by contact with a fixed part atthe extremity of the stroke at each end. rlhis is impracticable with the movable stop, as the carrier, in the operation of fashioning, does not move to the extreme end of the way. I have therefore provided connections between the reversing mechanism of the thread-carrier and the main drivin g-shaft of the machine, whereby the said reversing mechanism is operated at each stroke without regard to its location upon the guideways.

The carrier and its immediate reversing mechanism are the same as those shown in my patent aforesaid. It has a spindle Q carrying the guide and turning in bearings on upper and lower parts of the carrier. lVithin a vertical chamber in the carrier is a vertically-moving sleeve a about the spindle, and prevented from turning by means of a stud a2, projecting from the sleeve into a vertical slot in the wall of the cavity. It has an inclincd slot receiving a pin fixed in the spindle, and when the sleeve is moved up and down the slot, being of appropriate length and inclination, gives the spindle a half-turn, and the guide is so set on the lower end that this half-turn either way brings the thread into proper position over the row of needles on one side or the other, as the case may be. The pin a2, set in the sleeve and projecting into the vertical slot in the carrier, projects also into a channeled bar 19, its end being fitted accurately to slide in the channel of said bar.

The guideway O has upper and lower flangesv IIO tween the upper and lower flanges. Inv so sliding it carries up or down the sleeve, and thus turns the spindle with the thread-guide. The channeled bar extends the whole length of the guideway and is guided in its movement therein up and down, and the pin from the sleeve is always in some part of the channel.. The bar is moved vertically at t-he proper time by means of a cam-slide 20, which is located in the guide-bar O back of the channeled bar. This has inclined slots, into which pins from the channeled bar project, and when the cam-slide 2O is moved longitudinally it raises or lowers the channeled bar, and thus reverses the carriers through the channeled bar and the reversing devices, as explained. The channeled bar serves only as a convenient connection between the camslide and the intermediate reversing` devices.

The cam-slide may be moved by connection at any convenient Vpoint with the main driving-shaft, or any part driven therefrom which has intermittent movement contemporan eo us with that of the slide-bars.

A convenient connection with the main driving-shaft is shown in Fig. l. The wheel or drum 2l (shown in that. gure, and also shown in my aforesaid application) transmits such motion, making two revolutions at each reciprocation of the carrier. The cam-slide for the carrier is connected to this by means of a bell-crank lever 22, the upper arm of which is attached to the slide by means of a bar 23. It is connected to the drum by a vertically-arranged bar 29, pivoted to the short arm of the lever and having a horizontal pin 2l, which engages with a cam T on the wheel. The cam is in the shape of a pointed or curved wedge having spurs 25 on its larger end. It is pivoted on the side of the drum near its periphery, and its motion is limited by a pin 26 set in the drum between the two spurs of the cam. The cam works on its pivot with friction enough to hold it when left by the pin on the vertical bar 2Q. This cam is for the purpose of causing the action of the reversing mechanism at each end of the rows of needles in the ordinary action of knitting or to control the reversing action at will. When the point of the cam is down, as shown in Fig. 8, the pin in the vertical bar 29 is lifting from point 27 to point 28, and the carrier cam-slide, through the connection described, operates to reverse the threadguide. As the cam T passes beneath the pin 24, the cam is moved on its pivot to throw up the pointed end, as shown in Fig. 7, by the action of the pin on its larger end, and thus the cam is in position to canse the reversal of the guide at the opposite end in the next revolution of the drum. It will thus be seen that while the cam T will operate to automatically reverse the threadguide ateach end of the needle-rows, its position may-be controlled by the operator, and thus its action on the reversing mechanism be permitted or prevented at will.

It will be understood that while I have described and shown the invention as applied to the latch-needle machine, I do not limit myself in this connection, as it may be used with equally good effect in a spring-bearded needle-machine.

I claiml. In combination with the guideways of a thread-carrier of a knitting-machine and the slide-bars thereof, a threadcarrier and guide, a detachable connection between said carrier and the slide-bars, an automatically.- movable stop arranged to operate upon said detachable connections, and means for moving the stop, substantially as described.

2. In combination with the guideways of the thread-carrier of a knitting-machine and the slide-bars thereof, a thread carrier and guide, a detachable connection between the said carrier and the slide-bars, a stop arranged to operate upon the said detachable connections, a yarn-guide-reversing mechan ism on the carrier, a cam-slide in connection therewith, a main driving-shaft, and connections between the cam-slide and the said .main driving-shaft, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In combination with the guideways of the thread-carrier of a knitting-machine and the slide-bars thereof, a thread carrier and guide, a detachable connection between the said carrier and the slide-bars, a movable stop for operating the detachable connection, a point-carrier, mechanism for moving the stop and carrier in unison, a guide-reversing device on the thread-carrier and a cam-slide therefor, a main drivingshaft, and connections between the cam-slide and said shaft, all substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4,-. In combination with the guideways of the thread-carrier of a knitting-machine and with the slide-bars thereof, a thread carrier and guide, a detachable connection between said carrier and slide-bars, a threaded shaft, and a stop movable thereon and adapted to op erate the detachable connections between the carrier and slide-bars, substantially as described.

5. In combination with the guideways o IOC IIO

the thread-carrier of a knitting-machine and the slide-bars thereof, a thread carrier and guide, a detachable connection between the the said carrier and the slide-bars, a threaded shaft, a stop movable thereon, a point-can rier, a shaft for moving the same, and connections between the stop-shaft and the pointcarrier shaft, substantially as described.

6. In combination with the spindle of the thread carrier and guide, the reversing devices immediately connected therewith, a

channeled bar and a slide-bar for vertically moving said bar, a main shaft, and connections between said channeled bar and the main shaft, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

7. In combination with the reversible thread-guide, driving means therefor, a mov- ISO able stop, and detachable connections between said stop and driving means, wherebyv a variable stroke is imparted to the carrier, a main shaft, and devices connecting the main shaft with the carrier for reversing the said carrier, substantially as described.

S. In combination with the thread-carrier and its reversible guide, reversing mechanism, the slide for operating the reversing mechanism, a bell-crank lever connected therewith, a main shaft, and a pivoted cam moving with the main shaft, and a connection between said cam and bell-crank lever, all substantially as described.

9. In combination with the thread-carrier and its reversible guide, the cam-slide for rcversing said guide, a main shaft, a pivoted cani moving with the main shaft, and intermediate connections to the cam-slide controlled by said cam to the cam-slide, substantially as described.

l0. In combination with the cross-head and with the thread-carrier, a catch on the cross head engaging with the thread-carrier, a movable stop arranged to operate the catch, a spring-catch on the movable stop arranged to engage with the carrier, and operating mechanism for the cross-head and stop, substantially as described In testimony whereof I have signed my nam e to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FRANK VILCOMB. Vitnesses:

DANIEL McNIvEN, MILLARD F. MUNROE. 

